Industrial air emissions are often cited as a source of various environmental problems, such as ozone layer depletion, global warming, and acid rain, not to mention health related issues for those individuals working or residing in affected areas. For example, incineration of organic materials often results in the formation of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides, which are implicated with, among other things, the formation of volatile organic compounds that contribute to smog problems in urban areas. Such pollution is known to lead to various health related issues, such as pulmonary disease and increased cancer risks, as well as having negative effects on surrounding vegetation. As public sentiment and governments continue to pursue enactment of stricter emission requirements, industry struggles to find economically feasible solutions.
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) monitors the emission of numerous types of particulates and contaminants, including SO2, HCL, heavy metals, and nitrous oxides. Such pollutants may be present in low velocity exhaust from the operation of various types of industrial equipment and processes, hereinafter referred to as production source, such as internal combustion engines, boilers, incinerators, pyrolysis systems, and waste gasifiers. Yet, changes in processes and the capital investment required to purchase and operate purification systems in order to meet continually stricter emission requirements can be costly, especially given the complexity of most air cleaning systems such as bag houses, wet scrubbers, and electrostatic precipitators.
One type of existing purification system is known as a wet scrubber. Conventional wet scrubbers are reasonably complicated fabrications that typically require high pressure pumps and blowers to mix a mist of solution with incoming exhaust gases as said exhaust gases flow through the system's process ducting. The mist may be comprised of a water solution that may also include lime or other solutions. Water sprayed into scrubber systems are often collected in a tank for disposal. It is not uncommon for conventional scrubbers to use in excess of 250 gallons of water per hour of operation (or 6,000 gallons per day). Therefore, convention wet scrubbers may not only be expensive to install, but also expensive to operate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive and simple to operate system that reduces or eliminates the presence of many airborne pollutants in production source exhaust gases.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that may improve the solubility of carbon dioxide.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that reduces or removes harmful pollutants from production source exhaust gases that may also reduce the size and cost of downstream exhaust piping and exhaust gas management equipment.
At least one of the preceding objects is met, in whole or in part, by the present invention, which will become apparent in view of the present specification, including the claims and drawings.